Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-29

dug into the dead and the wounded, and
thar was ihe mother the only woman on
the train. dead, and the = babe sittin'
there playing with a piece Of the shat
tered stove. saying, Ma, ma. ma: pa. IA.
pa as il would laugh and hit the floor
with a piece "f the stove and pat its littl,
hands in puddle oi its mothers blood.
Them war bad times
Now, want To tell you erhout that
little babe and why il was that the CAP
tain of that Conscript gang that killed
Len little girls escaped, while all the
rest war killed and Lens mark put op-
pnsite their names yondcr On that tree.
and how II WIS | came to know all erbout
it
Here old man Pluuker rloved off few
steps to the sprinC-fnr We had long since
ahShtcd from the wagon and had eaten
lunch under one Of the oaks. After the
old man had drank and liz his pipe he sat
down and continued:
''one of the big Yankee prisoners toos
the little babe in his arms and went and
washed the blood often II with some water
that run from the mashed up tender. and
he didn't know what Ia do with the little
thing. So he seed old man Williams er
si,tin' of er piece, not much hurt and he
took the little babe and put il i'll his arms
and told linn to take care Of it. Old man
Williams never had no children, and he
didn't know how to manage the little
thing, but he done the hest he could, and
thar warnt nobody else that wanted the
babe, SO the old man had 10 keep il. and
he growed To love ii the same as if it was
his own little babe, and when he took it
H., a :, 4. ~.
fairly danced. and they kept it and raised
II, and il was always called Lena Will
iams, and il never did know, and don't
Know TIL this day any difference betwixt
these TWO old people and shure enough
father and mother.
Well" continued Plunket Lena
Growed up 10 he ~ pretty er Young lady
as thar was anywhere in Pike county. and
she married arter a while, and old man
Williams willed her everything he had.
and 81 she was Sich and happy, and is to
this day, nope.
The war was over, and Len Clinton
started ont 20 travel the world over. TO
find his wife and little one and to fulfill
the 'ow that he had made kncelinc beside
his dead children. 10 Kill every man that
C, me 10 his house on that sad night.
ne knew for intelligence Of his wife and
little one. He could hear nothing. He
then wrote 10 other states, and waited
and watched for their coming. Years
pas-rd, his hair grew gray, he roved the
NcH!s. looking into every nook and corner
10 See if he might not find the bones of his
lo'ed ones. murdered and hid away. He
got 10 be called Crazy Len. people were
efraid Of him, and he drifted off TO Texas
and then he come hack 10 Alabama, and
chen he went over 10 Georgia. and he was
erround in my settlement and seed him
and he told me erbout all his troubles.
and | told him erbout the collision at
BarneSville and erbout the lone woman.
the little babe, and he would hardly wait
for me To get through fore he was off.
and that's how l come To know SO much
erbout him.
We'll. " continued Plunket. Lien went
to BarnesN lille. and he seed the grave
marked unknown and then he went
over the other side of Zebulon TO old man
Williams settlement. and he got 10 the
store close by where Lena and her hus-
band lived, and set down TO rest a mint |
leaning his gun. which he always carried.
up 10y the side of the house. and while he
was talking they ali found out who it
was, and some of 'em run and told Lena
and her old man crbout him, and here
they come down TO the store. and as they
turned erround the corner of the store |
within ten feet Of where Len was settin'. |
Len raised his head, recognized the hus- |
band, grabbed his gun and threw it TO his |
shoulder, when Lena sprang in front of |
her husband, and as her eyes met her |
fathers he slowly lowered his gun and |
said:
81 won't make the other " turned |
and walked of, and he's never been seen |
in Pike since, and they just call him |
crazy. He may be erlookinC right at us
now. Folks say he's always somewhere |
here. and You coulNn't get no
body what knows him to touch thing on |
this place or 10 disturb erthing about that |
old house. Sarge in Atlanta Constitu-
ton.